For the first time in a long while, I missed reviewing an episode of Monday Night Raw, and, for that, I am sorry. Vacations are a hassle. I'll just quickly say it was a good show with a lot of quality wrestling.

Which is exactly what I hoped for on tonight's SummerSlam. The 13-match card was packed with top-tier matches, well-built rivalries, and every major wrestler in the company except those who are injured and Bray Wyatt because reasons.

With all the promise of big matches and a great NXT TakeOver for WWE to attempt to outshine, it was a show with all the expectations in the world to be truly great, perhaps the biggest show of the year for WWE after the somewhat lackluster WrestleMania this year.

American Alpha, The Usos, and The Hype Bros def. Breezango, The Vaudevillains, and The Ascension

Overview: The faces seemed unstoppable until Mojo Rawley got isolated. The moment turned when Jason Jordan got the hot tag and went on a suplex rally. American Alpha hit the Grand Amplitude on Simon Gotch, but Jimmy Uso snuck a tag and hit a Superfly Splash for the win.

Highlights: This was a bit too one note with far too many people for much of anything when it comes to highlights though there are very few hot tags greater than Jason Jordan whose suplexes are special.

Analysis: I get that WWE wants to put all these guys on the show to get a paycheck, but they could have come up with something better than rehashing SmackDown this week. It was a fairly bland match that did nothing for an interesting tag team division.

The one big positive to take away though was there were hints of the old Ascension in this match. With SmackDown needing everyone to step up, it would be nice to see The Ascension rise again, playing the vicious monsters again.

Rating: 7/10

Neville and Sami Zayn def. The Dudley Boyz

Overview: Sami Zayn and Neville came out early dominating until The Dudley Boyz managed to isolated Zayn. Neville managed to make the save but almost ended up taking a 3D. Bubba Ray though accidentally clocked D-Von, leaving Bubba to take a Helluva Kick into a Red Arrow for the loss.

Highlights: There's much to speak of here. It was quick and standard with Zayn and Neville wasted here on the Kickoff rather getting a real match.

Analysis: Sami Zayn should have been in one of the money matches on this show. Instead, he was in Sin Cara's place to get just a spot on the card. Disregarding that, this felt pointless as The Dudley Boyz implosion continues its very slow burn.

I am not sure that Raw needs Bubba Ray as a singles heel right now more than it needs the veteran Dudley Boyz, but they should just get on with it. Clearly WWE has its minds made up here.

Rating: 6.5/10

Sheamus def. Cesaro To Go Up 1-0 in the Best-of-Seven Series

Overview: Instead of building up, Cesaro and Sheamus immediately went for home runs, trying to finish the first round quickly. The two traded power with power throughout the match; however, a series of traded strikes ended in a thumb to the eye that set up a Brogue Kick for Sheamus' win.

Highlights: These two definitely pulled out some new tricks this time around. In particular, they made this feel like a real two sided brawl. There was very little downtime. The moves themselves though were old hat. Cesaro and Sheamus mainly just hit each of their signature moves once along the way.

Analysis: Cesaro and Sheamus are always good together, and this really showed their ability to tell a story. However, I did feel like this showed too much that Cesaro is becoming one-dimensional. The matches are good, but I can only be impressed by a dropkick to someone on the top rope so many times.

This Best-Of-Seven series demands that Sheamus and Cesaro get creative. If they can't, it will be a waste no matter how good the matches might be individually. I'm fairly skeptical of the two being able to freshen up this feud with so many straight matches to come.

Rating: 7.75/10

Jeri-KO def. Enzo and Cass

Overview: The heels tried to isolate Enzo Amore off the bat with a quick attack, but Big Cass got involved and used Enzo as a weapon to throw at the heels. Eventually, Jeri-KO found their opening and dominated Enzo. Enzo made his rally though and got to Cass who went on a hot tag roll.

Owens managed to stop the Bada Boom Shaka Laka and throw Cass into the steel post followed by a cannonball. This allowed the two to team up on Enzo with Owens throwing Enzo into a Codebreaker.

Highlights: Almost everything Kevin Owens did. His mannerisms as he beat down on Enzo and watched Jericho do the same was superb. His running the ropes into a headlock was one of the funniest moments of the night. Jericho also seemed more spry even pulling out a running knee.

Analysis: I may be overrating this one a bit. I'll admit that. Kevin Owens though was so hilarious that it felt wrong not to celebrate that. Jeri-KO is such a perfect pair of trash talkers, and I hope we get to see more of them up against Enzo and Cass, maybe with more time to deliver.

This was fairly standard though I liked the finish. It made Jeri-KO out to be vicious and dangerous. Enzo and Cass benefit more from ultimately winning the feud with Jericho and KO make them look vulnerable first. Just please don't repeatedly spend five minutes beating up Enzo and three minutes letting Cass look unstoppable. It gets repetitive.

Rating: 8/10

Charlotte def. Sasha Banks to Become the New WWE Women's Championship

Overview: After an early Bank Statement attempt, Charlotte attempted a top rope neckbreaker that badly injured Sasha Banks' back. The story revolved around this back injury for the rest of the time as Charlotte beat down on the injury with Banks refusing to quit.

Banks took Charlotte's best and refused to give up, but her back continued to give out on her. Banks managed to turn a Natural Selection into a Bank Statement then kick out of another Natural Selection. However, her back gave out as Charlotte reversed a Bank Statement into a cover for three, stealing the win.

Highlights: Both women managed to pull out their best, telling a great story and being innovative. We got an attempted Razor's Edge off the top rope turned into a headscissors and a Boston Crab by Banks in-between the turnbuckles. Ultimately, there were a series of finishers used to sell the climax of the match.

Analysis: This was a fantastic bout, once more reminiscent of the old cruiserweight days in WWE. Sasha Banks and Charlotte got creative and told a compelling story again. That said, this match was likely better than it should have been due to Banks taking too many risks for the match quality.

Banks took some bad falls and seemed to legitimately hurt her back. I could swear Charlotte slipped a bit in the match, showing her concern for her friend. However, the match used the injury so well, really capitalizing on it. I do wonder if the finish was always set that way or if Banks' injury changed things.

Personally, I really liked the surprising finish. Banks showed a ton of resiliency, but she couldn't stop Charlotte from exploiting her injury to steal a win in the end no matter how much she tried.

Rating: 9/10

Overview: Apollo Crews caught The Miz off guard early with his athleticism, scoring several quick nearfalls. He seemed to have Miz on the ropes until Maryse managed to get in a timely distraction that made Crews fall right into a Skull Crushing Finale for the loss.

Highlights: Crews is a highlight reel though this felt like an introduction to his best hits than a showcase for him in the truest form. He looked vulnerable at times with Miz, but the two rarely clicked. Crews did pull out his standing moonsault which is always crazy.

Analysis: I found this match to be rather bland. If there was a bathroom break match on the main card, this was it. Crews and Miz are great performers but not together. No matter how quickly WWE pushes him, it still doesn't seem Crews is ready for the spotlight.

As an introduction for Crews, this was fine, but it wasn't much of an actual match. The Miz moves on now to hopefully get some more ready competitors while Crews keeps honing his craft as a performer and character.

Rating: 6.5/10

AJ Styles def. John Cena

Overview: AJ Styles and John Cena tied up early and began a slow build to their best shots. They kept getting bigger and more serious as each man kicked out of their best shots. Styles kicked out of multiple AAs. Cena kicked out of the Styles Clash and the Phenomenal Forearm.

In the end, Cena hit an AA from the second rope but still only got a nearfall then another AA attempt was reversed into the Styles Clash followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for the clean victory.

Highlights: This entire match was a highlight reel. We got Cena pulling out a powerslam stunner and Code Red. Styles was hitting the Ushigoroshi and Rack Bomb. Of course this was also a finisher fest. Styles even kicked out of the Super AA from the second rope. It was a pure spectacle all the way through.

Analysis: Is it weird to say this was easily match of the night and a match of the year candidate yet I was a bit disappointed? AJ Styles and John Cena are so good that I grade on a high bar with them. This felt like it could have been a five star classic, but the two got too wrapped up in hitting big moves.

Do not get me wrong. This was absolutely phenomenal from start to finish, but it devolved a bit too much into a finisher-palooza late in the game. I wanted these two to sell the homestretch with more finesse. If they had, this would have been an absolute home run.

It was fantastic to see Styles go over clean. I don't know where they go from here, but I kind of hope AJ can just move on now with his two wins intact. It is about time he start leading SmackDown though one more round brought on by Styles getting a bit too cocky about his victories would not be unwelcome.

Rating: 9.5/10

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson def. The New Day By Disqualification, The New Day Retain The WWE Tag Team Champions

Overview: Jon Stewart introduced The New Day before the match. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson managed to isolate Kofi Kingston for a while in their corner with Xavier Woods getting the hot tag. However, the rally wasn't enough, and the heavyweights began dominating again.

Just as they hit the Magic Killer on Kofi, Jon Stewart got involved only to get crotched on the steel post. Big E though made his return to save Stewart and his New Day friends, causing a DQ. The New Day sent Gallows and Anderson reeling together.

Highlights: Other than the Xavier Woods hot tag, there was not much to this match to highlight. Gallows and Anderson should always be dominating like this, and it was cool to see Big E back even if it was weird to have him choose to only return at the end of the match.

Analysis: It was time to pull the trigger on Gallows and Anderson. Instead we are still going through the motions with the overlong New Day reign. I don't know why WWE feels more comfortable flipping other championships regularly but has decided to just let New Day ride all the way home.

It is beginning to hurt the match quality of the tag team division. I don't like to rate by comparison, but The Revival are proving each Takeover how good tag team wrestling can be while Raw's tag team division feels too focused on bad jokes.

Rating: 7/10

Dean Ambrose def. Dolph Ziggler to Retain the WWE Championship

Overview: These two men came out swinging and rarely let up. Dean Ambrose largely played the heel role, grounding and attempting to slow Dolph Ziggler who just kept rallying. Ambrose tried to mock and berate Ziggler only to find himself losing control of the situation.

Ambrose fought out of a sleeper hold and even had to kick out following a Zig Zag. Dean managed though to hit a rebound clothesline and the Dirty Deeds off the top rope for the victory.

Highlights: While this wasn't these two's best showing, there were some strong moments. Ziggler hit his best moves with fire including repeated sleeper holds, superkick attempts, and Famousers. Ambrose was best when he was just being a jerk, beating on Dolph and mocking him.

Analysis: We have seen better from both these men together which is a shame because this was supposed to be their moment. They got the time and the opportunity to deliver, and they were just good. The storytelling was solid, but Ziggler and Ambrose have begun truly slacking off in terms of execution.

The main problem holding this back though was simply that this didn't feel like a major encounter. Where was the main event spark? Since Ziggler lost clean here and did not turn, I would expect this was a one-off encounter. Ambrose will move on to Bray Wyatt or AJ Styles, and Ziggler may move down a bit.

Rating: 8.25/10

Overview: The heels seemed to be down a member after Eva Marie was announced to be taking a vacation to deal with emotional stress, but Nikki Bella made her return to even the odds. The heels managed to isolate and beat down Carmella but struggle mightily against Becky Lynch who took out all the heels at once.

Chaos ensued late in the match with Nikki and Carmella the legal women. The ring cleared out of stars with Nikki free to hit a vicious forearm and a TKO for the victory.

Highlights: Most of this was fairly messy with most of the women seeming sloppy. Luckily, Nikki seemed to be in good health and had some good showings with many strong impact moves. Lynch was easily the highlight making every second count with a flurry of offense taking out all three of her opponents at the same time in the corner with springboard kicks and Bexploders.

Analysis: All the credit to Becky Lynch who kept this from being a disaster. On the other hand, what happened to Alexa Bliss? The women in general seemed unsure of themselves besides Lynch and Nikki. This match really should have just been a Kickoff match rather than placed on the main card.

That said, I have been enjoying the SmackDown women's division so far and think they actually have a higher ceiling than Raw at the moment. There's just so much more going on for them especially with Nikki adding another high profile performer to the division.

Rating: 6.75/10

Finn Balor def. Seth Rolins to Become the First Ever WWE Universal Champion

Overview: Finn Balor sent Seth Rollins reeling early with a Coup De Grace attempt. Balor then went after Rollins' surgically repaired knee while Rollins tried to put down Balor with high impact moves when he got an opening. Rollins though often let Balor back into the game with too much gloating.

The two traded high impact nearfalls before moving up to repeated attempts to hit their finishers. Rollins blocked the Coup De Grace and hit a Pedigree but only for a nearfall. Balor blocked a Phoenix Splash then reversed a Pedigree into two dropkicks into the turnbuckle before hitting the Coup De Grace for the win.

Highlights: This was a match of nearfalls. Rollins pulled out much of his arsenal including hitting a turnbuckle bomb on the steel barricade, hitting a frog splash, even a small package driver. Balor had one of his best showings in WWE so far with a flurry of kicks and a ferocious comeback style.

Analysis: This was probably Balor's best match to date in the WWE which says quite a bit about how ready he is for the opportunity handed to him. There is no denying that Finn Balor is a talented performer, but he has not shown himself to be a great one yet.

This feels like WWE latching onto a new face because he has made the right friends backstage which often makes a talent disliked by fans. While Balor has gotten over so far, I do wonder if fans won't turn on him for such favoritism early in his career.

Rollins should at least be able to keep making Balor look great as the two have great chemistry. It was surprising to see Rollins go down so clean with Balor kicking out of a Pedigree while Seth only took one Coup De Grace.

Rating: 9/10

Rusev vs. Roman Reigns Never Starts, Turns Into Vicious Brawl

Overview: Rusev attacked and drove Roman Reigns out of the ring before the match could begin. He threw Reigns into the steel steps on repeat then used the steps to further grind down Reigns. However, Reigns rallied back and sent Rusev into the timekeeper's area.

The two traded attempts at using a steel chair which ended with officials separating them and forcing Reigns to the back. However, Reigns returned for one more charging Spear down the ramp on Rusev.

Analysis: Given the time constraints, this was the perfect way to keep this feud going. Rusev and Reigns had a great match on Raw, so it was clear they were not going to have another one so soon. Here we saw them both go all out to sell their rivalry as much more than a midcard title conflict.

This also gave us Reigns at his best, an unstoppable destruction machine. However, that portrayal of Reigns rarely does Reigns favors in garnering sympathy. By the end, he looked more like the villain than Rusev. Perhaps that could be intentional though.

Brock Lesnar def. Randy Orton

Overview: Brock Lesnar immediately began toying with Randy Orton, isolating him in the corner. Whenever Orton would try to get free, he got a German suplex for his trouble. However, after the two battled to the outside, Orton fought back with an RKO onto the announce table.

Orton hit a second RKO in the ring for a nearfall, but that was all Lesnar allowed him. He hit an F5 for a nearfall then began beating up Orton brutally with forearms that caused copious amounts of bloods. The ref had to call off the match and award it to Lesnar.

Afterward, Lesnar kept beating on Orton despite numerous officials trying to stop him. Shane McMahon came down to the ring only to take an F5 from Lesnar.

Highlights: These two certainly made the most of their minutes. As brief as it was for a main event, it was bloody and brutal. Lesnar actually casually threw Orton through a table. Orton also hit some fantastic RKOs on Lesnar.

Analysis: This is an odd match to rate because I am not exactly sure of WWE's intention here. For a minute, I honestly believed Brock Lesnar had lost it and taken liberties against Orton. Clearly the forearms he threw that busted Orton open were meant to bust him open; however, there is no way he throws those punches without consent.

I say that because Lesnar has always been a business man. If Lesnar actually messed up, lost it, and hurt Orton, he should never be allowed in a WWE ring again. This had to be someone's crazy idea backstage that led to an awkward if interesting finish.

The match was effective, but it needed to be more than it was. It felt like neither man wanted to do anything more than hit their signatures and get out of there. This should not have been the main event.

Rating: 7.5/10

Final Notes: Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan found Mick Foley backstage, and they traded friendly competitive jabs until Jon Stewart interrupted with his son and began questioning Foley about pairing with Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie walked in with The New Day pulling Stewart out of an awkward tense moment to ask for his help.

AJ Styles found Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, wishing them good luck in taking over Raw as tag team champions. As the three were Too Sweeting, Finn Balor walked in only to refuse to Too Sweet with The Club. Rusev and Lana were interviewed and angrily berated Americans and Roman Reigns.

The crowd in Brooklyn was loud and energetic which I appreciated, but it also tried to ruin the show a few times with takeovers particularly in situations that made no sense for the attempted disturbance. I hate that the biggest crowds often become this self-promoting entity nowadays.

Conclusion: SummerSlam was a good show that could have been great. There were some great matches along the way, but there were also quite a few duds. More prominently, WWE made numerous questionable booking decisions that hampered this show's potential.

We had false matches, weird near-shoot finishes, and odd choices to retain championships and to win championships. Most of this show will hinge on the viewer being able to accept the show for how it was built because generally the wrestlers did come to perform once again.

I do want to commend WWE on setting up the card really well. They spread out the marquee matches rather than clumping them up later in the night, allowing each to breathe before the next one. Unfortunately, they put them in the wrong order, starting with the best of the major matches and main eventing with the weakest.